THE pool at Daresbury Park hotel had to be closed before Christmas after blood worms were found in the water.

The hotel, which was described by one Trip Advisor reviewer as making 'Fawlty Towers look like the Ritz', is part of the Britannia group which was labelled the worst chain in Britain in October last year.

One former member of the leisure club has since told the Warrington Guardian she will not be attending the gym, off Chester Road, again after the midge larvae was discovered.

She added: "The club has been closed numerous times by Environmental Health and after googling blood worms, I found out it is down to dirt and cleanliness of the leisure club."

It adds to a difficult few months for the hotel chain after it was voted the worst in the UK for the second year in a row by consumers' magazine Which?

The report commented the chain, which national reports have claimed has been used by the Home Office to house asylum seekers, is comprised of 'run down' hotels that are 'well past their best-by dates.'

Ranked last out of 29 chains, Britannia Hotels achieved 33 per cent according to an overall customer score based on categories such as customer service, food and value for money.

Users of review website Trip Advisor appear to agree with the Which? assessment as it currently scores 2.5 out of five with one reviewer urging others to 'Avoid at all costs' while another said it was the 'best Britannia hotel they had been in'.

A Halton Borough Council spokesman said: “The Environmental Health department is aware of the presence of blood worms in the Daresbury Park Hotel pool – this was identified during a routine inspection and we have received complaints from members of the public.

"The pool was not closed by Environmental Health but the hotel management may have closed it to investigate the matter.

"Although undesirable, the presence of these worms in the pool does not pose a risk to public health. The quality of the pool water was tested by Environmental Health and was found to be microbiologically safe.

"We will continue to monitor the situation.”

A Britannia group spokesman was unavailable to comment.